SURPRISE! A FEW MORE CHRISTMAS PICS & VIDEOS

These pics and videos are an addition to yesterday's post. I am in the process of transferring my Christmas pics & videos to my computer this week so I will post some as I go!

Brooke is trying on her new clothes!

Kaylee sat in some wrapping paper.

Brooke showing off her belly.

ANOTHER BLESSED CHRISTMAS!!

Just like every year, we have been blessed with another wonderful Christmas!! It is such a blessing to have so many Christmas-get-togethers with family!! We are thankful for all the tasty meals, the abundance of gifts, new memories, hugs, cards, etc. Most of all, we are thankful for Christ coming to us as a humble baby in a manger to teach us how to live in this world and to die on a cross for our sins, so that someday we can live with Him in heaven for eternity. He is so good to us!!

The Lord has blessed us with two sweet girls (and maybe a 3rd soon) and it makes the holidays such a joy!!! It is so fun to watch their excitement and awe at the little things. This year, Kaylee absolutely loved the Christmas lights. I am afraid that we may have to take her to counseling when the lights are gone. She also got really good at opening presents. At Granny's house, she would open a present really quick and then run and ask Papaw Jack for "anoder one, pwease."

Brooke's favorite thing was the food (not surprising since she is my daughter). She was usually the first one at the table and also the last. She has definitely gained her weight back and more after being sick. It didn't take her long. She liked the Christmas tree and if the lights were not on, she was sure to remind me by standing there saying, "uh oh," over and over. I have tons of pictures and videos to share so I will start with a few tonight and add some more throughout the week. Oh yeah, sorry that it has been awhile, but Kaylee got sick after Brooke, then me, then Tim, and we were trying to get ready for Christmas and then we went out of town. Is that a good enough excuse?? hahaha!!! I will try to post soon so please check back soon!!! Have a Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!

POOR BROOKE

Poor Brooke got sick at 3:00 a.m. on Thursday morning while Tim was in New Mexico. She started puking and continued every 15 minutes. I called the Dr. at 5:40 and he said if I couldn't get any fluids in her, to take her to the emergency room. So, I called Mammy at 6a.m. to she if she could stay with Kaylee so I could take Brooke to the ER. We tried to get her to drink some water, but she couldn't even put the cup to her lips without puking. So, off we went to the ER. They took her blood (which was very traumatic and sad because they couldn't get any blood out of her since she was so dehydrated), took a chest xray, gave her a shot for nausea (which worked great), and gave her an IV of fluids and antibiotics (which was traumatic again because they couldn't find any vessels, but they finally found one in her foot).

After I got to the ER, I realized that they might have to do an IV and stuff and I started getting nervous since I was by myself. Thanks to Popop and Mammy, that problem was solved. My dad took Kaylee and my mom came to the ER with me and Brooke. I was very thankful, especially while they were taking blood and doing any IV.

Anyway, they said she had an ear infection, and probably a virus. After she finished the IV, they sent us home with a prescription for the ear infection and told us to make sure she drank lots of pedialyte or Gatorade. So, you can pray that she will drink lots of fluids because all she wants is milk. I have tried blue Powerade, grape Gatorade, red Gatorade, apple juice, and cranberry juice and the only thing that she will drink is apple juice which is not that great because that makes her diarrhea worse. Now she is drinking water, but she really needs the electrolytes. You can also pray that the rest of us, especially Kaylee, will stay healthy!!! Thank you!

It was a hard day, but I was so thankful that the Lord was blessing us throughout the day.

*First, I was thankful that Popop and Mammy were here to take care of Kaylee and come to the ER. They also kept Kaylee overnight which was a huge blessing because I could concentrate on Brooke and catch up on some much needed sleep!!!

*Second, I prayed on the way to the ER that we would have good nurses and doctors and we did!!! The nurse was great!!! When they had to do the IV, she went up to the baby floor to get a nurse that puts IVs in babies all the time. The baby nurse ended up being a lady that goes to my parents church and she did a great job!!! It was very comforting!

*Third, I obviously hadn't had much sleep (I usually stay up late when Tim is gone so I went to bed at midnight and woke up at 3a.m.), but I actually felt awake and alert most of the time, which is not normal especially when I am pregnant.

*Fourth, I had a couple of people from church call to check on us and tell us to call if we needed anything!!

*Finally, Brooke is fine and there were no major problems. I think she is feeling better and she is sleeping well at night!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Kaylee wants to send you all a Christmas greeting and a little extra song:

Here is Brooke kissing her reflection in the ornament:

BROOKE CAN JUMP...IF THAT IS WHAT YOU WANNA CALL IT

Brooke copies everything that Kaylee does, so lately she has been "jumping." So far, she hasn't made it off of the ground, but she thinks she does! While you are watching, notice the belly. I think Brooke eats more than all three of us put together.

BIG SHOES, LITTLE SPACES

Brooke decided she needed to wear my tennis shoes.

We got the bassinet out for the new baby and Brooke likes to climb into the bottom of it. We probably shouldn't let her do this because it might become a problem when there is actually a baby in it.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

We decorated our Christmas tree Sunday night, but I am not sure how long it will last. The bottom half has already been undecorated and redecorated several times.

It actually snowed a bunch Sunday, but we didn't go out because Brooke was sick so we made our own little snowman with playdough.

The girls put on their new Christmas jammies and then started unpacking all the decorations.

Brooke would just drop the ornaments on a branch. When it hit the ground she looked at it and went back to get another ornament. So, our tree had a horizontal line of ornaments at the bottom (thanks to Kaylee) and a pile of ornaments on the ground (thanks to Brooke). Oh well.

Brooke thought the tree skirt was a blanket so she kept rolling under the tree and going "night, night."

After this experience, I am debating whether I should put the presents under the tree or leave them in my closet.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

We had a fun Thanksgiving this year! Ron Ron came home and we had lots of fun hanging out with her. Wednesday night Mammy and Ron Ron came over to cook for Thanksgiving and Kaylee was really excited to help Mammy cook.

Our college roommates stayed with us while they were in town so we got to hang out with them a little on Wednesday night. Good times!

Thursday morning we hit the road. Our first stop was at Tim's aunt's house for lunch (it was good stuff!). Kaylee and Brooke had fun playing with their cousin Payton. Brooke really had fun dressing up in Payton's Tinker Bell costume and showing off. They were "flying" through the house. In this video, Brooke is showing off for the camera, walks toward the camera, and then goes back to pose for more pictures.

Our next stop was Papaw Jack and Mimi's house. The girls had naps while we watched the game. We stayed the night and then headed back to Mineral Wells to drop off Granny and see Nana and Papaw Mickey again.
Brooke & Papaw Jack

It was good to see everyone!! We are so thankful for all our family and friends!!!! Hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!!!!

This may not be as funny to you as it was to us, but I thought I would post it anyway. I think it was funnier at that particular moment.

I was going to post a video of Brooke, but the video thing quit working. Maybe tomorrow!!

MAYBE WE SHOULD INVEST IN A GYMNASTICS CLASS! (and long slide show)

I apologize for not posting anything for two weeks. I will try not to let it happen again... at least until Baby 3 is born. After that, I am not promising anything!

This was Kaylee's new trick today:





And for family and dedicated friends, here is a long slide show of all the Halloween pics that I took. I will warn you that it is long, so grab a coke and a cupcake and press play!!! (Remember...for all of you not so technical people, if it goes too fast, you can click on the pause button.)

COMING SOON TO THE RICHARDSON HOUSE

BABY #3!!!!!!!

YEAH!!!!

TRICK OR TREAT

We had a fun filled afternoon with some little hula girls!!! We made the rounds during the afternoon because Kaylee had Puggles tonight. It actually worked out well because hula girl costumes aren't very warm. We started out at Popop & Mammy's house so we could take pictures with the palm trees. Next, we visited Momzie at work and then we finished our "trick or treating" at Mamaw's (great -great grandmother) house. Kaylee went to Puggles and when we got home we turned on the porch light and Kaylee helped me give out candy to other trick or treaters. The Great Pumpkin (Mammy) stopped by and brought the girls some more goodies. This is only a few, but hopefully I can send more later. I only took about a million!! The joy of digital cameras!!!

COMING SOON: HALLOWEEN '07!!! BE SURE TO CHECK BACK TONIGHT OR TOMORROW FOR PICTURES!!!!

JUST ONE REASON WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER LEAVE CHILDREN UNATTENDED

This is an old video that my mom took while they were at her house. I am not sure how old they were, but it makes me laugh every time I watch it. Could this one be worthy of America's Funniest Home Videos???

MY COMPUTER IS BEING A JERK!

Sorry I haven't posted anything!!! My computer is being a jerk and I can't get online!!! Hopefully it will be fixed soon and I will post some more stuff!!!!

SOLO PLEASE!

One of my favorite things is to hear the girls sing. It is so sweet. Kaylee has been singing a lot lately, but she has decided that she wants to sing solo! This video is a little long, but I think it will be worth your time! ( For those of you who are not VeggieTale fans, the 3rd song is "Where is My Hairbrush").

FLIP....ALMOST

Kaylee has gotten pretty good at her flips. Maybe she is a future gymnist.



And here is "Little Miss Copycat" doing her "flip". Don't blink or you'll miss it.

NO MORE OATMEAL

I have discussed in previous posts that Brooke doesn't miss a meal. She is a bottomless pit! Recently, I broke the news to Brooke that her oatmeal was gone and this is what happened:

TIM'S HALLOWEEN COSTUME

I guess Tim has finally decided on his Halloween costume for this year: A Caterpillar!! How cute!

"JESUS LOVES ME"

Sorry it has been awhile!!! I really don't have a lot of time right now to post so I am just going to add a short video of Kaylee singing "Jesus Loves Me".

SLEEPY HEAD

Kaylee has always been able to fall asleep pretty much anywhere and sleep through anything. I am always taking her to restaurants and laying her down in the booths. Sometimes she never even knows that we got out of the car. A few days ago, Kaylee was eating lunch and I went to change Brooke's diaper. As I was walking back to the kitchen, I heard Kaylee drop her spoon and this is why:

Once again, I think that Brooke is making progress in the area of going to other people besides Mama. Kelsi, a former student in the college group at South Side, came to our house to visit before she moves off and gets married (yeah, Kelsi!!!!). As we were chatting, Brooke walked over to Kelsi, got in her lap, and put her head down. I couldn't believe it so I had to get a picture!!

FUN WITH MIRRORS AND BUMBOS

We were moving some furniture today and Tim put a mirror against the couch while he went to get a hammer and some nails. At some point, Kaylee found the mirror:

While I was posting this video, Brooke sat in the Bumbo. A Bumbo is a seat for babies that will hold them up even before they are able to sit up on their own. I think the box says it is for babies 4 to 14 months. You will see in the video that the Bumbo has definitely expired for Brooke:

"CLEANING" PAPS' HOUSE

Today the girls and I "cleaned" Paps' house. By the time we left I wasn't sure if the house was cleaner or dirtier than before we arrived.

After running around a little and checking things out, Kaylee found a little TV with a VCR in the guest bedroom and asked to watch a "moobie". She decided to be a sweet big sister today and asked if I would put Brooke on the bed with her to watch the movie. Ahhhh, so sweet....

That didn't last long because Brooke wanted to jump on the bed. So, after a short tantrum, she found a book and took it to Paps to read. If you have been around Brooke for a short time, you know that she would rather be held by Mom that go to anyone else. She is making progress in this area and here is a picture to show it. Yeah!!!!

And of course, Kaylee is still watching A Bug's Life.

Next, they decided to play a few songs.

All that cleaning was hard on Kaylee.

Brooke thought she would help out some more.

Kaylee woke up because she heard the word "cookie" and after having a few cookies she finished up her nap with Paps.

The girls helped Paps pick up all the toys and we started out the door, but first Brooke decided to dump her entire bag of Cookie Crisp on the floor along with all the little crumbs (you know, all the little crumbs at the end of the cereal box). Another day of life with a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old. Fun, Fun!!!!

TWO NEW WAYS TO WEAR A HEADBAND

For those of you who are getting tired of wearing your headband the same way everyday, check out two new stylish ways to wear your headband:

PRAYER VIDEO

Yeah! I finally got the video thing going!!!

MOMMY'S LITTLE HELPERS

I started sweeping the kitchen the other day and after a few minutes two little helpers found their mop and broom and decided to join me. It will be really nice if they are still that anxious to help around the house in about 15 years!!

BEACH BABE

PUGGLES!!!!

Kaylee is now a Puggle!!! Yeah!!! Puggles is part of our Awana program at church in which children learn about God and memorize scripture. Yes, 2 & 3 year olds memorizing scripture...I wasn't so sure about that either, but Kaylee memorized her verse this week: "God made everything." And, believe it or not, Brooke "memorized" it also!!!! Kaylee was working on her verse and I realized that Brooke was copying her (as usual) so I started teaching each word to Brooke. She says "Go ma eyyying!" She gets really excited and pretty much yells the last word so you can't really understand what she is saying. It's pretty funny! I did get some video, but I haven't been able to get videos going on the blog yet. I am working on it.

So, obviously the verses are shortened a little and they don't have to memorize the reference yet, but it is a good start. Maybe Mama can memorize some verses also, hahaha!!! I have posted the Puggle Memory Verse for the week at the top right corner of the blog so you can see what Kaylee is learning.

P.S. For all of you who are wondering, a Puggle is a baby Platypus. (Learn something new everyday!!)

HAPPY (BELATED) GRANDPARENTS DAY!!!!!!!

We are very blessed to have wonderful grandparents, great-grandparents, and a great great grandparent. Thank so much for all your love and support!!!! We love you all!!!